The Party I Will Never Forget
by foreverwritinglovesongs
Summary: Sorry this is not a Sherlock Fic, I didn't know where else to place this. This is a Benedict Fluff. You decide to go out to your best friends New Years Eve party, and it end with a surprising twist of events.


The Party I Will Never Forget

"Do I have to go, Bridget?" I plead.

"Yes, Ann! I'm inviting all our friends and all of Jeremy's! You know he has some cute friends in high places." She says with a quiver of her eyebrow and nudge on my arm.

"You know I don't care about his rich friends, if they're all idiots like the last one you made me go out with, I don't want to go. And they're all your friends, you know I don't know any of them." I tell her with as much annoyance as I can muster.

"I promise, promise, promise, that they all won't be like that last guy. Some will be, of course, but not all of them. And you should know some of them! Please come, for your best friend at least. You can't spend another New Years in bed with Duke." She says as she pets my sleeping Husky who never leaves my side.

"He'll miss me so much!" I respond but Bridget puts on her pouty face that I have a hard time resisting. "OKAY, fine. You win. But I get to choose what I wear this time." I say with as much vigor as I can, remembering the painful heels and low cut dress she put me in last time.

"Yay! I know you won't regret coming! Okay I'm off to set up and get ready! I will see you there at 10, or else I will send the police." She says with a smile and then she's already off the couch and out the door with a wave.

I am not one for big parties or people, to be more precise. Living in L.A. was a challenge in that department. Being a low ranking screenwriter, trying to make my way in the film industry, I had no choice but to move to the center of the film industry, which happens to be the center of the party scene.

When I met Bridget, who is also trying to make it in the film world, she was the polar opposite of me. She danced, kissed boys, drank a lot, and liked being the center of attention. I like hiding in plain site, watching movies, writing, and reading. But she brought me out of that cage and started to introduce me to the world. Her boyfriend Jeremy is an editor and he just did a couple of big movies and he had a big in with some high places so I didn't complain too much, hoping that one day he could help me out.

I liked to occasionally going out but she liked to do something every weekend. I have been into a new script I was writing that it had been weeks since I went out with her. So I knew that New Years would be the night she would beg for my appearance. I couldn't say no, but I couldn't say yes so easy and give her the satisfaction. But tonight was like any other night; I would be sitting in a crowded room, alone. Or so I thought.

9 O'clock and I finally put my laptop down and stand to stretch. "Come on Duke, gotta get all pretty to be ignored!" I groan to him as he barely lifts his eyes to look at me, and I swear I saw them roll.

Hair done. In the best way I could, the slight brown curls were lying softly on my shoulder. Make up is complete with barely anything on. I don't do the whole dolling up and looking like I have another face on my own. And to be honest, I've never been sure how to do the whole glamor scene, and I will never let Bridget help me. So the natural look is the one I chose tonight. Along with a simple purple dress with long sleeve, sequins along the neckline to make my blue eyes pop more than usual and the hem reaching to just above my knee. Completing the outfit are my favorite silver flats with simple diamond-like crystals on the toes.

"Well, how do I look buddy?" Duke just looks up at me from my feet, tail wagging and tongue out in excitement. "At least I got one boy to look at me tonight." I say with a smile as I kneel down and plant a gentle kiss on his head.

"Ann! I am so happy you're here! I was worried you weren't going to show!" Bridget says with a tight hug as I enter her apartment.

"I said I would come," it comes out a little harsher than I meant but she understands that these parties take a lot out of me. "Hi Jeremy, how are you?" I ask as he walks up to me and gives me a hug.

"Good, Ann! Ready for a new year." He says with a smile and then he proceeds onto another group of friends.

After being introduced to some of Bridget and Jeremy's friends, I talk to a few for a little bit. As the clock approached midnight, I started trying to drift toward her library.

I know the tradition of kissing someone when clock strikes midnight, but I'm not one who would participate in that. There were a few gentlemen that I could see myself kissing at midnight. Like a man who was much taller than my 5' 5" stature with blonde hair and green eyes, he had a good smile and seemed intelligent but not my type. Or the man who looked about 6 feet tall with a mess of brown curls and mysterious green eyes that I didn't have the chance of speaking too but he was far too good looking that I made sure to steer clear of him. Even though he caught my eye, twice. I did not like my chances with these men, thinking of my past experiences.

My watch reads 11:50 as I enter the library to be alone with the books. Or so I thought.

"Oh, hello." I hear a low, British sounding voice from the left of the room as I enter, too preoccupied with my watch.

"What? Oh my gosh!" I exclaim, extremely startled by the surprise of seeing the handsome man with those mysterious green eyes sitting in Jeremy's red velvet reading chair, with a thick blue book in his hand.

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to startle you. I didn't expect anyone to come in here." He said with a dazzling smile, closing the book.

"It's okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you. I thought I would be the only one who wanted to escape all the commotion. Should I leave you to read?" I say with a shy smile, still standing in the entrance of the door, not sure what to do.

"No need to be sorry. And no, you don't need to leave. I wanted to escape the crowd, but one lovely woman is the perfect company. Would you like to join me?" He says with a handsome and kind smile and wave of his hand to the chair next to his.

I have to remember how to talk before I can respond. "Uh, uhm, thank you very much. And yeah, I mean yes I would like to." I correct myself because I can feel his intelligence just in the way he sits and I didn't want to sound like a fool in front of him.

I walk, or try to, over to the purple velvet chair only about two feet from his own. As I approach, I can see his black button up has very deep gold pin striping in it, something I admire because that is the one thing in fashion I admire, the small, intricate details. I look up into his eyes as I take my seat and I see that they are green but like his shirt, there's more detail there. They are green, with flecks of blue and gold, something you don't see everyday. I can't help but stare for what is longer than acceptable. I catch myself and try to correct it.

"Uh, how long have you been in here?" I ask looking away quickly.

"Not five minutes before you came in. Escaping the party you said? What for?" He asked with a genuine curiosity that I have not seen in anyone in a very long time, and he never broke my eye contact, even though I looked away.

"Well, I'm not one for big parties and I barely came tonight. But Bridget is one of my best friends so I had to come. Why are _you_ in here?" I ask, wanting to understand why a man who could walk out of here with any woman was sitting alone in a dark library.

"Well, I've been doing a lot of traveling lately and I haven't had much time on my own. But I came tonight because Jeremy is an old friend who was one of my first American friends, so when he found out I would be in LA for New Years, he insisted I come to his party." He said, his smile faltering a little at the end, and I could sense a very humanness and kind of somberness in him.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I understand wanting to be alone. Ha, that's what I love most," I say with a little too much vigor and I realize how that could sound, "I mean, I'm not a shut in or anything, but I like it. Being alone. Um, okay I'm going to stop talking and let you read." I can't believe what I just said and how pathetic I must sound to him. But to my surprise, his smile widens, and it is truly genuine.

"Oh come on, you are much more interesting than this book. May I ask why you like being alone?" He says now sliding to end of his seat, turning towards me, our knees barely touching. He looks at me with intent and the sadness that was just their a few seconds ago, fleeting and it is replaced with curiosity.

"To be honest, some people can just be really fake and I can't do that. I like real people and people who can be themselves without being someone they're not. I get exhausted figuring out who they're really trying to be," I say as I gaze into his eyes, feeling warmth there. I look across the room where the light and sound of the party is coming into the dark room, "It's just hard in a city like this, or anywhere really, to find people who are content with themselves."

"And you feel like all they are trying to do is impress people who could care less?" He says, never taking his eyes off me.

"Yes! Exactly." I say, returning my gaze back to his and wondering why I ever looked away.

"I get that, especially in this industry. I like the way your mind works. You seem to be real enough. Or are you faking like everyone else?" He asks raising an eyebrow and leaning in a little closer to me. I can't help but sneak a glimpse towards his lips, that curve in a way I've never seen but I am glad I finally did.

"No, this is all real. Are _you_ faking?" I ask, leaning in a little too, our faces only inches away. I can smell a hint of scotch and cologne coming from him, an odd pairing that smells wonderful on him. Our eyes meet and at that moment I can hear:

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Year!"

I glance toward the open door where the noise came through. "Should we go join the party?" I ask glancing back into his eyes, and when I do I realize his eyes still haven't moved from my face.

"Not yet," and before I realize what's happened, his lips reach mine with excitement and I return the soft kiss with the verve to match his own.

I never intended to end my night like this; in a library with a man I never met before, kissing in the darkness. But it felt like the fireworks were in that dim lit library with us. His soft curved lips matched mine like their was magic at play in that moment. He lifted his right arm and put his fingers through my hair and held my warm, blushing face. It had been such a long time since a man had kissed me like this that I almost forgot how to breathe.

I reached up and put my hand to feel his soft cheek with a little bit of stubble coming in, and as our lips parted and moved in perfect unison, I forgot the existence of the whole world moving around us. It was definitely a good way to ring in the New Year. But all too soon, our lips separated and I finally caught my breathe.

As we leaned back to sit up right, he looked at me with the biggest smile I had seen that night. I tried to straighten out my hair but he grabbed my hand to stop me.

" You look beautiful," he said with a smile and a wink, "I suppose they will be missing us now, won't they?" He said standing up to his great height, pulling me up with him.

"Maybe," I say in response, tightening my grip on his slender fingers and looking up at him, "oh, this is a bit awkward but I just realized we don't even know each others names."

"Oh you're quite right, my name is Benedict, but my friends call me Ben. And yours, love?" He asked while planting a sweet kiss on my cheek.

"Ann. My name is Ann." I say trying to think straight, still working to comprehend what just happened.

"Well Ann," he said letting go off my right hand and extending his to shake, "it is very nice to meet you," he replied as he bowed to plant a kiss on my right hand, looking up from his bow he asked, "may I ask what are you doing tomorrow evening?"

"Ben, absolutely nothing." I say with a smile as he stands up tall and I place my hand back in his as we walk out of the library with full smiles, hand in hand, and hopeful for a wonderful new year.


End file.
